I've made this post because I’m hoping to hear from people with expertise in this area. I’d really like to know whether my theory makes sense or not at all, because I want to understand what was happening in Iran and why things now seem to be going back to normal. Can SO2 pollution affect rain on this scale?

I didn’t make this post to be political. If the discussion turns political, I’ll probably have to remove it.

There’s been a lot of news about heavy rain and flooding in Iran since February 2026. I looked at some data and found something interesting.

Iran has been one of the world’s largest emitters of sulfur dioxide (SO2). It seems sulfur pollution creates tiny particles in the air, and research suggests these can make cloud droplets smaller, so the clouds are less likely to produce rain.

For years, poorly managed oil refineries, power plants, and metal smelters in Iran have released huge amounts of sulfur dioxide.…